Anti-Proliferative Effect of on Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells.

Background: is an Indian herb used in traditional medicine to treat various diseases such as jaundice, asthma, liver and urinary disorders. However, the anti-cancer potential of on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is poorly understood. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the anti-cancer activity of in HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Methods: The leaves and root of were extracted with methanol using soxhlet apparatus. The cytotoxicity of the extracts in HepG2 cells was evaluated using MTT assay whereas the mode of cell death was examined by AOEB, Hoechst and JC1 staining under a fluorescence microscope. extracts-induced caspase-3 expression was investigated using colorimetric assay.

Results: The leaves and root extracts inhibited HepG2 cell growth at the IC of 102.33 ± 10.26 µg/mL and 276.67 ± 20.43 µg/mL respectively at 24 h. Chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentation, apoptotic bodies formation and mitochondrial membrane depolarization were observed in HepG2 cells treated with both extracts. The caspase-3 expression was significantly ( < 0.05) increased in extracts treated cells when compared to control.

Conclusion: The leaves and root extracts of induce apoptosis mediated cell death in HepG2 cells.

Summary: The leaves and root extracts of exhibited anticancer activity in HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells. These extracts induced cell shrinkage, DNA condensation and fragmentation, mitochondrial membrane depolarization and upregulated caspase-3 expression indicating extracts induce apoptosis in HepG2 cells. AO: acridine orange, DMSO: dimethyl sulfoxide, EB: ethidium bromide, IC50: the concentration at which 50% of cancer cells are dead, JC-1: 5, 5', 6, 6'-tetrachloro-1, 1', 3, 3'-tetraethyl-imidacarbocyanine iodide, MTT: 3-4, 5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl, 2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide, PBS: phosphate-buffered saline, ΔΨm: mitochondrial trans-membrane potential.